Clara Ford, wife of Henry Ford, drove this Detroit Electric. In the years before World War I many women chose electric cars because they started instantly without hand cranking and had no difficult-to-shift transmission. The superintendent of the Detroit Electric factory employed his daughter, Lillian Reynolds, to sell to women -- including Clara Ford, who drove this car into the 1930s.

Detroit Electrics used Edison batteries. Many advertisements, like this one from 1910, used the famous inventor's image and reputation to boost confidence in the car's reliability.

Early luxury vehicles sometimes contained bud vases for flowers. The flowers, whether real or silk, freshened up the interior. This pressed glass bud vase from The Henry Ford's 1922 Detroit Electric car has molded flowers on its sides.

This 1911 advertisement praised the Baker Motor Vehicle Company's fourteen years of "invention and achievement" as an electric car manufacturer. Similar ads touted the vehicle's other advantages. Baker electrics were simple to use, reliable, safe, clean, and elegantly styled -- qualities implied by the ad's artwork.

The Baker Motor Vehicle Company advertised its light weight electric car in this 1915 ad. Similar advertisements touted the Baker electric vehicle as simple to use, reliable, clean, and elegantly styled -- qualities implied by this ad's artwork. By 1915, however, sales of "electrics" were in decline. Gasoline-powered vehicles with internal combustion engines were dominating the market.

This 1910 advertisement praised the Baker Motor Vehicle Company's electric cars as the "Aristocrats of Motordom." The ad touted the advantages of Baker electrics. Their vehicles were simple to use, reliable, safe, clean, and elegantly styled -- qualities apparently desired by many well-to-do customers.

The Baker Motor Vehicle Company advertised its elegantly styled electric car in this 1910 ad. Clearly aimed at well-to-do women, this advertisement discusses only a couple of the vehicle's operational and mechanical features -- a noiseless shaft drive and ease of riding. Company advertisers believed these features were desired by the refined, society-conscious woman and would encourage the purchase of their automobile.

President William Howard Taft motorized the White House in 1909 when he purchased a steam-powered White, two gasoline-powered Pierce-Arrows and a Baker Electric. Three years later, Taft replaced the 1909 Baker with this 1912 Victoria model for the First Lady's use. It remained in use until 1928, serving Helen Taft, Ellen Wilson, Edith Wilson, Florence Harding, and Grace Coolidge.

The automobile arrived at a time when American women were fighting for the right to vote and seeking expanded opportunities beyond traditional domestic roles. The car quickly became a symbol -- and instrument -- of this new freedom. Advertisers made frequent use of automobile imagery, and carmakers increasingly directed their ads toward women.

Surprisingly, Clara Ford -- wife of Henry Ford -- drove an electric car instead of a Ford Model T. Early electrics were often marketed to women because of the cars' cleanliness and ease of operation. Anderson Electric, maker of Mrs. Ford's car, sent this letter hoping she might suggest a few friends interested in buying an electric vehicle.

Safety was a frequent theme in electric automobile advertising. Certainly, electric cars were safer to start than hand-cranked gasoline cars. But manufacturers also stressed that electrics were safe to charge. This illustration, from a 1917 Rauch and Lang Carriage Company catalog, vividly makes the point with a child holding the plug while mother turns on the power.